There's a jukebox in the corner and a display of hometown high school football memorabilia on the wall. There's a steady hum of conversation coming from the tables and a steady stream of good food coming from the kitchen. Fonzie's not here, but if you close your eyes (to block out the 21st century parking lot scene outside the windows) and just go by impressions, you might believe you were back at the "Happy Days" hangout Arnold's, a mighty fine place to pass some time.

This large and well-established strip mall restaurant isn't fancy, but it hits all the right notes. The extensive menu covers five large pages. The restaurant itself is loosely divided into three sections. The smallest is the carryout counter, which also features the jukebox, dessert display and the cash register where you'll pay your bill. Next comes a dining area mostly filled with elevated booths. Last is a large room, best suited for groups, with booths and tables and plenty of light from the front windows. Sitting and waiting for your meal, you can watch all of Delmar go by.

You won't have long to wait, though. Service is speedy and efficient, and the food comes quickly. Our house salads, with a delicious house Greek herb dressing, came within a couple of minutes of placing our order. The salad had crispy croutons and a bit of romaine for color, and the dressing was so good it made even the chunks of iceberg lettuce appealing.

We wanted wings, but we weren't sure we wanted to try kamikaze strength — or, at the other end of the heat spectrum, sissy. So we asked for a 6-piece order of hot wings ($4.50). The wings were large and meaty and the sauce buttery and tasty, but not particularly hot. We might just dare the kamikaze wings next time.

It is perhaps not surprising that Delmar Pizza is known for its pizza (our server seemed baffled when we inquired about the restaurant's specialties; perhaps the name says it all). Everything from the crust to the sauce is done just right. We asked for extra pepperoni and got it. The pizza was tantalizing enough that everyone at the table tasted it, even though most had ordered other dishes.

A few bites of a pizza steak sub transported us back in time not to the imaginary Arnold's, but down the road to
Salisbury's late lamented The Hut. Something about the sauce and the well-seasoned meat and the crisply toasted roll conjured the memory of many equally outstanding subs eaten in that favorite hangout.

It was chilly outside, so it seemed right to order a hot Italian dish to create some heat inside. We settled on the Rigatoni Ala Amatriciana, which arrived incredibly hot from the oven. The pasta bowl all but overflowed with a rich mixture of rigatoni, Fontanini sausage, ricotta cheese, marinara sauce and melted mozzarella. This dish ranked high on the Cheesy Comfort Scale, but we wouldn't like to have to read its nutritional profile. It was a meal substantial enough for two to share, and came with toasted garlic bread.

Dessert is definitely worth having, whether you eat it there or carry it home. Delmar Pizza bakes its own desserts on premises, and offers such treats as Napoleons ($2.50), rich and light at the same time; densely sweet baklava ($2.25), strudel in three flavors ($2.25), plus cheesecake, rice pudding, cannoli, cake and ice cream.

Delmar Pizza is the ideal neighborhood hangout on a Friday night or after a big game, whether that game involves the perennially excellent Delmar Wildcats football team or a youth sports league. And even if Delmar isn't your neighborhood, after spending some time inside Delmar Pizza, you might start to wish that it was.